Thundercracker Heroics
Note: ST = Swivel Translation It had been a long trip on the roads of Cybertron from Vos to Non, but finally the small automobile with more wheels than body rolls into the scattered outskirts of Nyon, where shanties, made from salvage, dot a disused field where athletes used to train. There is a small sputter from the small vehicle, and a burst of dark exhaust from the twin pipes. The flat-chassised car rolls to a stop and transforms into a petite femme, who upon being transformed, opens a panel in her thigh and hen lets out a long, plaintive groan. She was cheated again and given coolant that was more filler than anything else. The femme tentatively glances around. The land of the empties was not necessarily her favorite place to make a pit stop. Thundercracker is out stretching his wings, enjoying his given gift of flight in all its glory. The blue Seeker is out crusing and leaves VOS airspace as his flight path branches farther and farther out. Shortly the Outlier comes to the outskirts of Nyon and with a mental huff wonders how mechs could live on the ground like that. And oh look there's one now. The Seeker banks over and swoops down a bit to get a better look at the femme. A femme? Really? He notices the black smoke and her transform and look to her leg. <<"Are you malfunctioning?">> The jet asks in a rather deep voice over a general comm frequency. It seems, thankfully, mostly quiet, although Swivel is eyeing the shanties in the distance for any sudden movements. Or sneaky movements for that matter. She does hear something flying in the distance, and this doesn't give her much pause. It isn't until the sound gets really loud, meaning something is flying really close, that she looks up in bewilderment. After all, she wasn't standing on a landing strip. <<"N'zactly. Jus' defective coolant an' low grade...">> There is an abrupt pause in the femme's response as she looks about herself. She glances up only briefly once more, but then sets her optics on where she could have sworn she saw some movement on the ground. ST: Not exactly. Just defective coolant and low grade... Crouching not far from Swivel is a patchy mech. He had taken cover behind a fallen billboard monitor and was watching the femme quite intently. From the patches of rust and lack of symmetry, one can imagine this mech has been through some crude repairs. Everything about the mech screams scavenger. However, with the low flying jet nearby, the patchwork mech freezes and tries to avoid sky detection. Thundercracker banks around trying to decipher what the femme just said. He thinks he figures it out and he swings back around, pulls up and transforms. "If you need some help I will assist." he says hovoring a bit but slowly coming down to the ground. CURSES! The mech that had been watching Swivel is not very happy that his prey is no longer alone. It was too good to be true that such a small, weak looking femme would stop so close to his hunting grounds. But now there is a flier with her, and then mech quietly withdraws. For now. The no-longer-potential-victim smiles at the seeker who condescends to her level, more or less. "Tha's mighty kind, guv! But I'm s'prised you'd come down 'ere t'elp a li'l nothing like m'self." The femme gives Thundercracker a thurough once-over, storing to memory his colour scheme and any other little details that would set him apart. Otherwise she'd never be able to tell those seekers one from the other! ST: That is mighty kind, guv. But I am surprised you would come down here to help a little nothing like myself. Yes it does look as if this Seeker would rather be anywhere then on the ground /here/ that's for sure. But Thundercracker also sees a femme that looks like she needs help and he can be nice like that. "Well normally I wouldn't." he replie honestly, "But this is a pretty rough spot and you look like you could use some help." He steps closer, "Coolant you said you needed?" And he opens an access panel on his left forearm. Swivel bobs her head with much enthusiasm, confirming that Thundercracker did, indeed, hear her correctly that coolant was an issue. How very nice for a flier to come down during her moment in need. If only there were more upstanding mechs like this one here. "S'right!" Swivel watches him closely, eagerly, and curiously. After all, he might not be reaching for coolant. He might be reaching for something dangerous! But Swivel would never suppose that, for she has that intrinsic flaw of believing most to be innocent until proven an absolute jerk. ST: That's right! Thundercracker unattaches a small coolent line and keeping the end pinched pulls it out a bit and looks at her, "Give me a port to hook this into." He glances around breifly looking at the decrepid conditions of where they are and wonders idley if they are as alone as it appears. Swivel glances about appearing almost sheepish. But then she shrugs and brings up her knee while balancing on the other leg. Teeter. She opens a panel on her thigh, and then looks at the line. "Second thought..." teeter, "mebbe it'd be easier t'do this in me alt," Swivel says. She puts her other leg down just in time, for the arms were out and there was mad fliling to keep herself from falling over. Falling is a talent of hers. Once she has reoriented her sense of balance, the femme transforms into her odd little vehicle mode. A panel slides open along the side - due to the lack of a top or bottom, a lot of her access is through the sides rather than through a hood. ST: On second thought... maybe it would be easier to do this in my alt. Never hunt alone, they say. Well, perhaps a flier won't be so much trouble, and actually, would earn a lot more shanix than a dirty femme having road troubles. The patchy mech returns with some reinforcements. In the distance, forms can be seen zipping between structures and other forms of cover, circing wide, but undeniably edging closer to Thundercracker and Swivel. Thundercracker watches her nearly fall on her aft and then transform. He smirks a bit and then hooks up his coolent line where she indicates and its then that he catches something out of the corner of his optic. Vague forms darting from one structure to the other, and it seems to be coming in an arc around them. "We have company, this needs to be quick," he says as he watches his own coolent fluid levels through an internal monitor. This wily pack of scavengers are getting less careful as they get closer. That may also have something to do with the fact that cover gets scarcer the closer they get to their target. Just as Swivel indicates with the words "Good 'nuff," that she has enough coolant to make it to where she was headed, about five can be counted arriving, and all of them are holding weapons. The shooting kind. "Meep," is a small noise Swivel makes as she realises, along with Thundercracker, that they aren't alone. "Yeah, um, this is kinner normal fer these parts..." Swivel emits. And she was actually having a good cycle until now! ST: Good enough. | Meep. | Yes, um, this is kind of normal for these parts. Thundercracker sees the five closing in and he reattaches his coolent line and closes his forearm panel. "Back away now, Empties." he says as he ring his arm cannons online. "Get out of here, Ive got them." the Seeker suggests as he prepares to jump into the air and transform. Thundercracker's mere presence upon bringing his cannon online is enough to cause two of the five to falter. Their hands shake and they almost lower their guns as they glance towards other empties. However, seeing no one else backing down, they raise their weapons again. "Yewr nat going anywhere!" Thundercracker doesn't need to tell Swivel twice. She isn't the sort to insist and stay and deny a mech their chance to heroically protect her. She has almost no weapons and no martial training, other than what natural random flailing of limbs constitute as self defense. The femme revs up her engines and is off, accelerating with surprising haste for a ground vehicle. "I SAYED NO!" A mech yells and fires a laser at Swivel. Swivel banks hard to the side, causing her to be driving on just two wheels for a span. Score marks on the ground where her currently lifted tires used to be indicate she was just barely missed. The first gun was fired, which causes the rest to begin firing at Thundercracker and Swivel. However, they lack skill, and at least one of them has their weapon blow up in their face, causing the mech to fall backwards. Thundercracker makes sure the femme's escaping and then he snaps into jet mode and his his afterburners straight for the group of empties. But he does not fire his cannon, instead he activates a very unusual system that he alone pocesses. After a moment the air above the empties explodes violently as if a flier just broke the sound barrier yet the blue Seeker is only doing a few dozen miles an hour. The sound alone would have scattered some of the empties, but why not settle for all? Weakened by shabby repairs and parts not propery configured to their frame type, the concussive force of the sonic wave is ample enough to cause all of them to fall. One of them even falls apart into a rusted heap of shambles; a grotqesque display of infirmities brought on by extreme poverty. Meanwhile, the little femme is driving as fast as she can. She's no racecar, but she is maintaining a decent speed and quickly putting distance between herself and the scavengers. Thundercracker banks around to see his thunderblast as it were did exactly what he intended. He easily catches up with the femme ground mech. <<"Everything ok now?">> he radios as he paces her. The femme is speeding along and doesn't slow even slightly when she is contacted by the seeker up above. <<"S'all good! Y'were 'mazin' back there!>>" There is no lack of adoration in the femme's tone. ST: It is all good. You were amazing back there. Thundercracker keeps pace with her, "The names Thundercracker," he says and then lifts up a bit "Be seeing you around.....?" he leaves the comment hanging as he doesn't know her name. <<"Swivel! Th'name's Swivel! I'll be sure t'member yers, Thundercracker,">> emits the car that is merrily bumping along, very gradually slowing the pace as she prepares to enter the more dense parts of Nyon. ST: Swivel! The name is Swivel! I will be sure to remember yours, Thundercracker. Thundercracker chuckles a bit, <<"Be careful out there, Swivel.">> he banks away and guns it to head toward the forge.